India assists in developing Model Villages across Sri Lanka

:India and Sri Lanka signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for construction of 1200 houses through 50 model villages, using Indian grant assistance of SLR 600 million.

The MoUs were signed by Mr. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, and Mrs. W.K.K. Athukorala, Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Construction, in the presence of Sajith Premadasa, Minister of Housing and Construction. The signing took place during a special ceremony held in Hambantota for vesting to the beneficiaries the Santhosagama model village completed under the Gram Shakti Model Village Housing Project at which High Commissioner participated as a Special Guest.

The 1200 houses will be constructed using the successful owner driven model with Indian grant assistance. Of these, 600 houses will be constructed in the Southern Province, while the remaining will be constructed across Sri Lanka, one model village in each of the 25 districts. The project will target low income landless and homeless beneficiaries. A cash grant of SLR 5 lakh will be provided to each beneficiary in five installments, linked to the stages of construction of the house.

These projects are in continuation of Government of India’s commitment to assist the Government of Sri Lanka in the development of housing infrastructure. It may be recalled that the Government of India committed 50,000 houses for the IDPs in the North and East and out of which nearly 46000 houses have been completed.

Construction of 4000 houses is currently underway in the plantation sector in Central and Uva Provinces.

Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi committed another 10,000 houses for beneficiaries in the plantation sector in May 2017.